Fluid delivery systems for medical use are well known in the art. Typically, these systems are used to deliver pain control medication and other medications such as insulin to a patient. A typical system includes a reservoir for storing the fluid to be delivered to the patient and a pump assembly in operative communication with the reservoir for delivering the fluid from the reservoir to the patient. Often, a controller is programmed to operate the pump assembly based on a plurality of operating parameters such as flow rate, bolus amount, and the like. An input device in electronic communication with the controller is used to set values for the plurality of operating parameters. Once set, the controller operates the pump assembly based on the operating parameters. In many prior art systems, once the values of the operating parameters are established, the system is locked to prevent further access to reset the values of the operating parameters. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to reset the operating parameters such as when the patient requires additional medication.
For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,075 to Lebel et al., an implantable infusion pump is disclosed that has certain operating parameters that may be reset based on changing conditions. One such operating parameter is a diagnostic medication delivery rate. In Lebel et al., the pump communicates with an external device that requires a password in order to change the diagnostic medication delivery rate. The password may be established by a medical professional using the external device, or may be a factory password derived from the system. The factory password may be fixed or variable. If variable, the password may be based on a variable parameter such as the date and/or time reflected on the external device. However, Lebel et al. does not disclose a system that takes care to ensure that the user, e.g., the medical professional, will not forget the password.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a fluid delivery system that is capable of being reprogrammed to reset values for a plurality of operating parameters using a security code that is easily remembered by the user.